To create a wire construction, the machine needs to be fed either a vector file of the image or a text file with clear commands for manipulating the wire

Pensa mainly envisioned the device for creating wire prototypes for various design projects before moving on to more detailed models, but the DIWire could come in handy for creating artwork or jewelry as well

The bending head moves around all angles of the wire to curve it to exactly what the initial design calls for

Pensa based the DIWire machine on much larger wire-bending machines that already exist, but are used mostly in factories for mass production

Aluminum wire unspools from one end of the machine, is straightened by several wheels along the length of it, and is finally shaped as it passes through a bending head

Pensa plans to openly release the software code along with a list of materials and instructions for constructing the machine

Thanks to the popularity of 3D printers like the Replicator and the Cube, there are plenty of devices out there for crafting almost any solid object from just a design. But what if you're more interested in building a 3D object from something a little less voluminous like, say, a simple line drawing? The materials used to create most 3D printed object unfortunately aren't sturdy enough to recreate objects that thin. That's why New York-based design consultancy, Pensa, has built the DIWire Bender, a machine that follows vector diagrams to bend and shape pieces of wire into elaborate structures.